I moved back to the US after 1 year abroad in Japan. My American career is more lucrative, but life is better in Japan.

• I spent a year teaching English in Japan. The experience was thrilling and a total culture shock.
• Living in Japan as an American is a 24-hour immersive learning experience.
• I returned to the US for my career, but feel like life in Japan is probably better.

Having grown up and lived in the US my entire life, my first night in Tokyo as a fresh college graduate was a full-on culture shock.

I couldn't read the restaurant menu, so I had to point at pictures and hope for the best.

I walked past crowded shops and nightclubs where employees tried to entice people to come in. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I smiled, nodded, and drifted along in a daze.

I felt like the only American for thousands of miles. One gangly blond guy from Iowa plunked down in the middle of the world's most populous city. It wasn't lonely or scary — it was thrilling.

I moved to Japan after college in 2001

My first job out of college was teaching English in Japan as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program.

I'd made friends from Japan while volunteering as an English conversation partner for English language learners at my college. I became fascinated with Japanese history and culture.

So, when I learned that the JET Program offered a steady paycheck and helped to find an apartment, it was a no-brainer.

I felt like part of a community in Japan

My everyday work life was in a quiet suburb of Tokyo called Hidaka. I made a comfortable, mostly tax-free, salary of about $2,500 a month (300,000 yen), teaching English at local middle and elementary schools and working with Japanese teachers and students.

Though I couldn't speak the language very well, I quickly made friends with my Japanese colleagues — the teachers would host monthly enkai ("drinking parties") with dinner, beers, and karaoke.

People at the grocery stores and restaurants were exceptionally kind and patient with me, and a random middle-aged mom in the neighborhood even pulled over in her car and gave me a ride to school a few times. I felt like I was connected to a larger community.

I learned how to conduct myself appropriately. Whether it's taking off your shoes upon entering the house, knowing how to use chopsticks, or communicating in a softer, more indirect, and polite style in the workplace, living in Japan as an American is a 24-hour immersive learning experience.

My college connections hooked me up in Tokyo

Some of my fondest memories were outside of Hidaka, in Tokyo.

One of my friends from Japan, who I met in college, introduced me to his circle of college peers in the city.

Through those connections, I was able to experience a whole other side of Japanese culture.

I went to a weekend retreat at a hot springs spa resort. And I ate sushi at a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant near Tokyo's largest fish market, where the tuna get dragged in fresh off the boat every morning.

Why I moved back to the US

After a year in Japan, I moved back to the US for a job opportunity to become a speechwriter for the Governor of Iowa.

While teaching English in Japan was fun and liberating, it didn't feel like the best long-term career choice for me.

I could have easily stayed in Japan and kept teaching English for another year, or two, or three.

In the end, though, I felt I'd have better career opportunities in my own native country and native language.

After working in politics, I've gone on to have a varied career, working in marketing, banking, technology, and for most of the past 15 years I've supported my family as a full-time freelance writer. I'm grateful for all of it and have probably made a lot more money in America than I would have as an American expat in Japan, with more career flexibility and autonomy.

However, all these years later, I still have fond feelings for Japan and keep in touch with my college friends there. My family and I visit them, and they come and visit us. My children were the ring bearers for one of my friends' wedding ceremonies.

Compared to Japan, America's individualist culture sometimes feels too stressful, selfish, and competitive. I'm grateful for my life here in the US, but often feel that life in Japan is probably better — a little more peaceful, generous, and gentle.